Hi Jeff
I am in the process of making a larger tank for my Norton in steel. I did post a thread a few months back in the motorcycle projects area. I too am fairly new to this. I started with the sides, which have the most shape. I used a stump to get the rough shape, then the wheel to get the walnuts out.
The part taking most time is the underneath as it is a complex shape to clear parts on the frame.
Picture below shows the top section.
Tank top3.jpg
Regards
Dave